


Oh My God, They Were Lab Partners

by alli12345



Series: She-Ra Modern AU [2]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Entrapdak, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Mutual Pining, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-09-19 03:54:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20324680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alli12345/pseuds/alli12345
Summary: Highschool AU where a delinquent Hordak somehow gets assigned with the pretty nerdy prep girl Entrapta from his class.Hordak's never liked someone before.





	1. First Meetings

‘Get into pairs, class. We’re starting a new science experiment today.’

Everyone starts shuffling into their respective partners seats, chatting idly amongst themselves. Hordak ignores them, choosing instead to glare at a fixed point on the wall. His grades were less than stellar, and it didn’t help that he always ended up doing partner work entirely by himself. If his classmates were afraid to work with him, it wasn’t his problem.

He's never had any need to talk to anyone who went to Etheria since the merger. The two rival schools had combined into one years ago, much to the chagrin of both. The Horde's facilities had been run to the ground, so the government had decided to combine the previously private all girls school to save on funds.

There was still a bitter feud between the former schools students, and their friend groups have stayed mostly separate. However Hordak had not bothered himself with befriending anyone, as both were (rightly) terrified of him.

Rumours had circulated about how he was part of a gang, or how he had mafia tattoos that he covers up, or he had beat up rival students and that's why he always came to school with injuries. This was further exacerbated by the fact that he had a short temper and a large stature, and the private school girls prejudice about the Horde didn't help.

All he was there for was to graduate, socialising was beneath him as far as he was concerned.

As he's mulling over the ways how he can somehow scrape through this class with the minimum marks, Hordak sees a shadow loom over him, and he scowls.

His substitute teacher pushes up his glasses and coughs politely to grab his attention. ‘Hi, Hordak was it?’ He says in a fake sweet tone that came off more as patronising.

Hordak doesn’t answer, which they seem to take as an indication to press further.

‘You don’t have a lab partner?’

A small gasp could be heard from his classmates, and he can feel their stares at the gall of the substitute for even asking.

‘I don’t require one.’ Hordak says coldly, glaring up at him. ‘I can do it myself.’ He didn't trust anyone else to do the work anyway, and hated the idea of being forced to talk to someone all term.

The teacher looks slightly taken aback, especially when he catches the eye of the girl with short silver hair silently indicating him to stop. He frowns, but is determined not to be usurped on his first day.

‘You will be assigned one whether you like it or not.’ His teacher says, to the almost comical sound of scraping chairs as his classmates inch away avoiding eye contact.  
An uncomfortable silence washes over the classroom and before the situation could escalate, a chirpy voice pipes up.

'I'll be his lab partner.'

Hordak looks around, taken aback. No one had ever dared to volunteer to be his partner before.

It was a short girl with long untamed purple hair past her waist. She was wearing their issued white lab coat, a plaid skirt, black boots and an obnoxious grin on her face.

He suppresses a groan. _Not her._

Entrapta was the smartest in the grade, a preppy chatterbox who hung out with the popular crowd. The exact opposite of what Hordak was. Entrapta had fallen out of favour with the popular girls a while ago, and now was friends with some emo girl and her jock friend from the Horde.

Not that he was paying attention, of course.

She had tried to talk to him once junior year, when his home life was so bad that he had cut class just to tend to his wounds behind the boys bathroom block. Entrapta had seen him, just before he pushed down his sleeve to cover up the marks.

He had yelled at her to get out, which would send the normal person running- but the purple haired girl didn't even flinch. She had told him to wait a minute, and rifled in her bag filled with a comically large amount of items.

_Tadaa,_ she declared, unearthing a box of obnoxiously pink and cupcake patterned band aids. _You keep them,_ she had said before leaving, and he was left with a cocktail of emotions ranging from shock, disbelief, and mortification.

He had refused to wear them at first to make a point, but eventually caved seeing as he didn’t have any other forms of medical supplies which he desperately needed. Hordak still avoided her in the halls since then, unable to cope with the reminder that someone had seen him in any shape or form vulnerable.

\--  
'So, I think we should get started on this..' Entrapta rambled, rifling through the equipment in the drawers.  
Hordak watched her begrudgingly. He really didn't understand this girl, and why she was trying to get involved with him. Didn't she know this partnership certainly wasn't doing any favours to her current reputation? Or was it out of sympathy, regarding their last interaction?

He watches her lab coat fly around her as she runs, collecting beakers and chemicals until the entire table is covered with materials.

'Put these on.' Entrapta handed him some safety goggles. He frowns, refusing to take them. She finally looked up from her experiment, a confused expression on her face.

‘Why are you doing this?’ Hordak says, deadpan.

‘What do you mean?’ She questions, and her expression is so innocent he almost second guesses himself. Almost.

‘What are your intentions?’ He presses more forcefully. ‘I don’t need your pity. If that's the reason why you volunteered, I can do it myself.' He didn’t like the feeling that he owed her anything, especially that he never asked for it.

‘Oh, is that all?’ Entrapta says, turning back to her experiment.  
'I wanted to do it. Science is more fun when you have someone to bounce ideas off with! Besides, Scorpia paired up with Catra, and...' She trails off hesitantly, looking back at the popular girls who were currently fighting for the position to be the blonde girl's partner. Entrapta pulls the goggles over her eyes.

Hordak stares at her, before huffing quietly to himself. She was ostracized from her former friends, and to some degree he could understand. At least he knew she could pull her weight, if her grades were any indication.

‘Fine. Suit yourself.’

\---  
They continue as lab partners throughout the next week, and he slowly but grudgingly gets used to the tiny chatterbox that’s forced herself into his life.

At first he's determined to ignore her, but once she starts rambling about her hypothesis about cosmic forms and space, he breaks his silence to counter her (frankly wrong) theory. Instead of being offended, Entrapta gasps in giddy excitement, thrilled at his knowledge and demands to hear more.  
He tells her how it can't possibly be correct due to various theorems and how the universe was far larger than she can comprehend it. They go back and forth the entire lesson, looking up articles and old obscure satellite videos on his phone until their conversation gets cut by the bell.

He doesn’t think about Entrapta again until later that night, when he receives a text.

**Unknown:**  
HORDAK!! :)) there’s been a new breakthrough about the asteroid belt, u need to read the paper on it!! I sent you a link, let me know ASAP about what u think!!!

He looks at the text dumbfounded.

**Hordak:**  
How did you receive this number?  
**Unknown:**  
Oh i added you when you weren’t looking! during class :PP  
**Hordak:**  
That's a flagrant breach of privacy.  
**Unknown:**  
[image.attachment]  
[image.attachment]

Hordak squints at his screen. What had she just sent? A grey shaped blur?

**Hordak**: What is that.  
**Unknown:** 🤖🤖🤖🤖  
**Hordak:** I do not understand.  
**Unknown:**  
[mp4.attachment]  
That's Emily!!! I built her myself!!! :)) 🔧🔧  
**Hordak:** You made that? A fully functioning bot?  
**Hordak:** That is most impressive.  
**Unknown:** thanksss;;! :///)  
**Hordak:** I will read the paper and we can discuss it in person tomorrow.  
**Unknown:** :D

\-----

True to his word, he meets up with her on their free period in the library. Entrapta is bouncing with boundless energy, pulling stacks of books from shelves which Hordak somehow finds himself carrying.

They were talking for a while (well mainly Entrapta was chattering while Hordak listened) until he noticed a group of girls staring at them.

He recognised them as the same ones from their bio class, whom which Entrapta had referenced yesterday.

The short pink haired girl whispers to her group of friends, who exchange incredulous looks with each other.

_What did you expect, of course she's with the Horde._

_The only thing that matters to her is science, not people. She doesn't care about us._

He feels a flash of irritation, and he turns to the now oddly silent Entrapta.

'Do you want me to dispose of them?' Hordak growls, getting up from his chair.  
He can’t believe that they were the company she had chosen to be with in the past.

‘A-aaah-’ She looks up from her book in alarm and drags him back down into his seat. ‘Please don’t do that.’

He frowns at this, surely she shouldn’t be tolerating this sort of bullying.

‘But they insulted you.’ He says petulantly.

'No, it's okay.’ Entrapta says vacantly, propping her study glasses down so it obscured her expression. 'Do you want to listen to some music?'

She offers him an earbud. Hordak takes it, but not before shooting a glare in the girls direction. They caught him looking and they scatter, and he rolls his eyes. _Good riddance. They don't deserve her company in the first place. _

\---

'The way they treat you is unacceptable.' He fumes a few days later as they're walking to class. For some reason he's still feeling irritated, like an itch under his skin that he can’t get to.

Hordak had seen the way Entrapta's 'friend' Catra had blatantly copied her notes, or the other girls needled her for answers despite their thinly veiled hostility. Entrapta had just let it happen, even though they were just using her. He definitely would have destroyed them, but every time Entrapta just puts a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

'They're all fools! How dare they disrespect you like that. You have more intelligence than all of them combined.' He rages, but for some reason she's smiling.

'Thanks. For being mad on my behalf.' Entrapta says. 'But I'm okay. I like to help. It's not that bad now that you're here.'

Actually one would argue that the rumour mill actually gotten worse since they started talking, considering his unfortunate reputation. A part of him felt responsible for that, as he never really considered how his actions would affect other people. Well more like he had never cared about that in the past, but this was different- this was Entrapta and she didn’t deserve any of it.

_Just let me protect you,_ he wants to say impatiently, but he doesn’t.

\---  
They start studying together per Entrapta’s request, exchanging notes from shared classes and explaining things that the other had trouble understanding. This was probably an excuse to hang out more outside of class, but he didn’t mind.

Sometimes she leaves little encouraging notes in his workbook, 'You can do it!' accompanied by little doodles of herself. He would never tell her, but the reason for an uptick in homework completion is largely due to how he enjoys seeing her scribbly handwriting next to his meticulous print.

Slowly but surely his grades started to improve with the amount of study sessions they were having. When he comes back from an exam with an A instead of his usual low C's, she jumps for joy and practically throws herself into his arms. Caught off guard, he barely manages to catch her as she loops her arms around him. Entrapta’s tiny stature meant she could only reach up to his waist, so he can only see the crown of her head.

Hordak can’t remember the last time he’d been hugged, but this was...nice. She was warm, and kind of smelt like flowers. _Her presence wasn’t all too bad,_ he decides.

\-----  
Sometime during the week, he finds her in the science lab alone just before class, munching on an assortment of tiny snacks.  
'Tiny muffin?' She offers from where she sat perched on the classroom table.

'There's no eating allowed in the labs.' Hordak reminds her, but takes the muffin anyway.

He watches her run around the lab, knocking over someone’s pencil case with her long purple hair in her rush. _How does she dye that much hair?_

'Isn’t it more efficient to tie your hair back while doing experiments?'

'Hm? Oh yeah, I probably should.' She says, tugging on a strand. 'Can you tie it up for me? I’m kinda busy.’

Hordak hesitantly accepts the elastic bands offered to him. A multitude of thoughts ran through his mind. _I am definitely not qualified for this. What hairstyle would suit her anyway?_

After a minute he very carefully takes half of her very soft hair and ties it up into a pigtail high above her head. He delicately pulls some loose strands from her face and ties the other half up to match.

She turns around to look up at him, and the light catches on her features, illuminating her for a few seconds. Hordak stares for a brief second, before his heart nearly jumped out of his chest as people start trickling in through the door for class.

She doesn’t seem to notice his momentary crisis as she looks over their instructions for the day.

‘We’re making crystals! Absolutely fascinating structures.' She adds a few chemicals to a beaker, and passes it to Hordak.

He’s still recovering from the previous trick of the light, in which he thought she almost looked... pretty? Simultaneously horrified and embarrassed at the thought, he snatches the beaker.  
He gingerly adds a few more and stirs it, watching the liquid inside change colour.

'Great job!' She beams, and he feels himself get warm at being praised. Did she have to keep doing that? What was happening?

'Now we can start heating it up.' She places it on the hotplate, and he nods.

'Day 27, we'll be studying changes of properties in matter and joining molecules in repeating patterns.' Entrapta says into her audio log in her phone. ‘Say hi, Hordak!’

‘I am not saying-’

'Hordak's my lab partner,' She continues talking into the recording. 'If I can recall, we met junior year, behind the boys bathroom-'

His stomach drops at the mention of their first encounter, and instinctually tries to snatch the phone from her grasp- but by doing so knocks Entrapta right into the beaker.

The beaker which was currently boiling.

He thrusts his hand between Entrapta and the beaker without thinking, and cries out in pain as the burning chemicals splash on him.

The beaker shatters on the floor in a loud _crash!_

'Hordak!' She rushes over to him, jumping over the mess to where he had sunk to his knees.

He’s clenching his hurt hand stiffly, but manages to grit out ‘I’m fine.’ It was just a burn, he’s dealt with way worse at home. Thankfully the other students seem to be too caught up in their own failing experiments and loud chatter to notice their accident in the isolated corner of the lab. Even the teacher was busy scribbling something on the whiteboard. Negligent when it came to things that actually mattered, like the safety of the students. Hordak slowly starts to clean up the mess, his shaking hands picking up the glass.

Entrapta smacks the shard out of his hands and grabs his arm.

'That's not important.'

She drags him over to the sink, and plunges both of their hands under the cold water.  
He feels a rush of cool relief, and he breathes out until he realises that her hands were still coiled around his. He feels his heart stop then start again but at a jackhammer pace, and his hands start trembling for a completely different reason.

Hordak tries to speak, but can feel his ears burn red from embarrassment.

The moment ends when Entrapta finally turns off the tap and gets some paper towels to dry off their hands. Luckily his hand was fine, but she continues to fuss over him for the rest of the lesson.

As he’s watching her, he thinks he recognises the emotion bubbling in his chest from earlier.

_Oh no,_ Hordak realises. _This can’t be happening. _


	2. Loved

Hordak's never liked anyone before in his entire life. Not even as friends. So whatever _ this _ was? Completely out of his depth.

There was no stopping it- _ these feelings. _ It was insane how much her name plagued his thoughts in random places at all times of the day. These symptoms formed in unexpected ways, like how he had thought he was having a heart attack, when really all that happened was that Entrapta smiled at him.  
Or how his face would heat up and his hands would involuntarily go clammy when she would drag him by the hand to go somewhere. 

Hordak had even learnt how to _ braid. _He had gotten pretty good at it too, if the complicated french braids and buns Entrapta was sporting before lab now was of any indication. 

It didn't matter though, since she obviously didn't feel the same. She's had dozens of friends before, and he was just one of them. But Entrapta was his _first_ friend- but he's already screwed that up. It's taken him this long to find someone that he can actually tolerate the presence of, and it seemed fate was determined to take that away as well. 

So he crushes the feelings deep inside, though they threaten to spill out every few minutes when he's with her. He's fine with being friends, really. 

The school holidays was starting, which would give him plenty of time to get over his feelings. 

This plan is immediately compromised when Entrapta insists on texting him several times a day. 

**Entrapta:**

yakult is the perfect size of drink but it's not fizzy!!

(〒﹏〒)

**Hordak: **

Perhaps you should try packaging your drinks in smaller sized Yakult bottles. 

**Entrapta: **

:00 yea ur right!! I'll ask my butler to do that be righttt baackkk 

**Hordak**: 

A butler? 

**Entrapta: **

yep my parents r always busy working!! Soda pop makes the best lunches **ヾ(´ ▽ ` )**

[image.attachment] 

It's a photo of what seems to be her lunch, bite sized cookies, scones, and of course pink fizzy lemonade in a tiny bottle. 

Looking at it, he thinks it's only customary to send a photo of his own lunch. 

**Hordak**: [image.attachment] 

**Entrapta**: ???????‽‽ Σ(°△°|||)︴ 

**Entrapta**: NOO9OOOOOO what is THAT ??!!! 

He's confused by her response. It was all that Prime stacked their food cupboards with, he didn't see anything wrong about his grey ration bars. It wasn't even the brown kind today. 

**Hordak**: That is my lunch. 

**Entrapta**: (ಥ﹏ಥ) I'm so sorry hordak… 

pleaseeee let me come over and deliver U some of my food!!! 

He wishes she would, but he can't afford letting Prime see her. There's a reason why he's dodged every request from her to come over. 

**Hordak:** Thank you for your consideration, but that won't be necessary. It gives me enough nutrition for the day. 

**Entrapta**: FINEE but when we get back I'm giving you all the food U can eat!!! I'll even make them big!! Just for you!! 

**Hordak**: I look forward to it. 

**Entrapta**: (≧▽≦) ♥️ 

_ Did...Did she just send a heart? What did that mean? _

He stares at the screen in disbelief. Every time he thinks he's doing well she sends his mind into overdrive. 

Scratch that, what was he supposed to send back? 

He falters on a response, anxiously trying to decide one before she got suspicious and asked him why he was taking so long. A solid 5 minutes later, he finally settles on one. 

**Hordak**: :]

\---

...

[Incoming video call from Entrapta]

He bolts upright in bed, hair in disarray. 

The clock reads 1am. What was she doing calling at this hour? He scrambles to lower the volume, unlocking it in the process, and when he does Entrapta's face fills the screen. 

She's in her pajamas, her hair tied up haphazardly into a messy bun on the top of her head. It seemed like she had attempted to recreate the neatly tucked bun that Hordak always did for her, but couldn't quite figure it out. 

'Hordak! I've just made the most fascinating discovery- oh sorry, were you sleeping?' 

'Ah, no. I wasn't.' He fibs, not wanting her to hang up. He didn't want to admit it, but he missed seeing her face. 'Do go on.' 

She digs through a stack of letters, and brings it up triumphantly to the screen. 

'I've found some scholarship offers buried in my junk mail!' She chirps through the pixelated video feed.

'Got one from California Institute of Technology, Harvard and MIT! They loved my research papers and scientific breakthroughs!' 

He blinks in shock. That was huge. 

'Congratulations!' He bursts out- those are incredible opportunities. ‘Which one will you be attending?' 

'Oh, that's why I called! I needed help deciding. So I was wondering…' She looked oddly nervous, tapping two fingers together. 'Which university would you be going to?' 

Hordak hadn't even applied to any university, let alone receiving offers from Ivy League schools. It had been decided since he was a kid that he would be working for Prime's company right after graduation. He hadn't considered any other alternative before. 

'I…have not applied to any yet.' 

'What?!’ She cries out, appalled. ‘You should definitely apply! You have more knowledge of cosmic forms than I do, Hordak. Plus your grades have improved exponentially this year- I even made a graph!' 

Before he can ask why on earth she had made a graph of his grades she brings out a spreadsheet of his progress. 

'According to the numbers you can definitely apply to any of the surrounding schools in the area! Oh but how fun would it be if we could go to the same university?!' 

'I can't possibly afford the tuition-' 

'Bank loans, and you can work part time! You could even apply for financial assistance. Please come.' 

Hordak hesitates, looking at the door behind him. Imp was stirring in the room next door. He lowers his voice. 

'I.. I...'

He starts and aborts a few sentences. He clenches his scarred arm unconsciously. Of course he wants to.

But he had responsibilities that weighed heavily on his shoulders, and circumstances that a carefree sheltered girl couldn't even comprehend. No amount of optimism or daydreaming could fix his grim reality. 

'I can't.' Is all he manages to say.

She looks slightly taken aback, and he can see her trying not to look disappointed. 

'..That's okay. I understand.'

A horrible sense of guilt spreads in his stomach. Entrapta changes the topic and they don't bring up the subject again.

\---

Entrapta has always had trouble making friends. People usually ignored her when she talked about her interests, or were telling her what she did wrong. Usually it was a missed social cue, or she had used words that were too technical for them to understand. 

Hordak was different though. He always listened, understood her technical jargon and offered his own knowledge that sometimes even outweighed her own. She had been curious about this elusive person that everyone was afraid of since she had met him behind the bathroom block. He didn’t seem like the vicious animal that the rumours made him out to be. So on a whim, she had volunteered to be his lab partner.

At first she was just ecstatic to find someone who liked the same things she did, but soon it was more than just the shared love for science. Entrapta had thought for years that the only way she could make friends was allowing them to copy and take her work, but Hordak had showed her otherwise. A shared solidarity for two outcasts. 

Even though he showed a tough angry exterior to everyone, with her Hordak was surprisingly kind. 

He always did little things for her without prompting. Once she had forgotten to bring her jacket when it was cold and he had wordlessly handed his over for her to wear. Or how he noticed when she hadn't slept that night and bought her an iced coffee from the vending machine. He had even poured it into the lid in an effort to make it the way she liked it. 

She began to notice things about him as well, like how he got embarrassed easily, or how despite his old demeanor he could be surprisingly childish. His reactions became even more fascinating than her experiments. Entrapta catalogued them in her mind, keeping track of the emotions he would show. He was always so stoic, the primary emotion being anger or quiet indifference. A few smiles here and there, scattered in between. 

However when Hordak laughed for the first time _ ever _, she was caught completely off guard. 

When his eyes crinkled into little slits, and his laughter exposed his canines, her brain was shaken only leaving one thought. 

_ Beautiful _.

Entrapta had found something more valuable than any discovery she's made in her career as a self made scientist. She wanted to discover more about him, however he never talked about himself, which both enthralled and frustrated her to no end. But graduation was coming soon, and the last thing she wanted was for Hordak to not talk to her anymore like Adora and the others.

She had tried to put off the deadline, ignoring the growing stack of offer letters that could whisk her away to anywhere in the world.

_ Come with me. _

_ I can't. _

_ Why? _ Had she misread them this whole time? Did he not want to be with her too? But she was wrong with Adora and her friends, and Catra. 

Someone told her once how people cannot be quantified, calculated, predicted. Feelings can be there one day and gone the next. She is no stranger to failure. But it doesn't mean she isn't afraid. 

\-----

School resumes again for their final term, and Hordak is inwardly thrilled to see his friend in person again. Entrapta waves at him from the school gate, before diving headfirst into all the things that happened over the holidays she couldn’t show over text. 

They agree to be lab partners again without hesitation, and fall back into their comfortable friendship. 

Soon it’s prom season, and the halls are decorated in banners, posters and flyers. People are pairing off left and right, chattering away about how to ask their dates out. 

Hordak never attends these sort of events, he always blatantly refuses to go. However during one of their study sessions in the library, Entrapta tries to convince him to come with her. 

‘It’s meaningless to go to such an event. Mingling or dancing is not a productive venture.' 

'But it could be fun! I’ve been wanting to conduct a social experiment and it’s the perfect place for it.' She protests. 'Also Prom is imperative to the high school experience.' 

He waves her away, unconvinced. It's not like he could afford the tickets anyway, and Prime would never let him go. 

'I refuse to squander my time on something so pointless. There will be no further discussion on this.' 

She pouts, turning back to her notebook. The sulky charade lasts for a record 10 minutes before she caves and starts running her mouth again. 

He's still adamantly against it, but that sentiment gets stopped in its tracks when he catches someone approaching Entrapta. 

'Hey, Entrapta was it?' The tall blonde says languidly. ‘Can I speak to you for a moment, over there?’ 

'Oh, sure!' She says, getting up from her chair. 'Can I get you something?' 

'Certainly!' 

Hordak listens to the conversation happening behind the bookshelf. He doesn't like the look of them, all greasy smiles and cocky demeanor. 

'A date to the prom, please.' They smirk, their tall stature allowing them to lean over her. 

Hordaks jaw drops, and the feeling of jealousy flares in the pit of his stomach. He fights the urge to throw that cocky bastard across the room. But the knowledge that he has no right to be angry when he had already turned down her offer kept him rooted to the spot. 

Thankfully Entrapta doesn’t seem to get it. 

'Oh I'm not organising that.’ She says, tapping her chin. ‘I think Frosta and her prom committee are. Or you could ask our school captain Adora and her prefects, they’ll know who to talk to get tickets.' 

They look dumbfounded, but hastily amend their wording. 

'No, I meant- will _ you _ be my date. To the prom.' 

'Me?' 

At this point there are marks on the wooden bookshelf from Hordak’s nails. The other person looked almost cocky in their confidence, smirking while waiting for a response. 

_ Of course she’d accept, they were just friends after all, and she didn’t owe him anything. _However Entrapta cuts through his spiralling thoughts.

‘Thank you. But I won’t be going.’ 

Hordak looks up in surprise, shocked at her response. So do they, as Entrapta swiftly passes them and lights up when she spots him behind the shelf. ‘Hordak, there you are!’ She chirps brightly. ‘Come on, I wanted to show you progress photos of my new upgrades with Emily.’ 

He feels awful as she leads them back to their desks, it seems like he was letting down Entrapta a lot these days. First with the university, and now this. However Hordak is determined to make it up to her, racking his brain for ideas until he remembers the bandaids she had given him years ago.

_ Cupcakes. _ Despite not having much he managed to scrounge enough coins to buy ingredients. 

Half of them end up charred to a crisp but he manages to salvage a few through enough scraping. With the help of Imp, he manages to frost and decorate them purple and blue to cover up the scorch marks. 

Hordak thrusts the cupcakes in her face before class, before realising that he hadn't prepared anything to say.

'I, uh, wanted to..here.' He stammers, dropping them into her palm. 'I made them. For you.'

She looks at the cupcakes, stunned. To his complete and utter horror, Entrapta's eyes start to water.

_ Oh no. Did he mess up? _His mind goes into overdrive in panic, and he looks around frantically for a way to calm her down.

'Were they unsatisfactory? I will try again. Please allow me to dispose of those-' He reaches out to take them back but she pulls it away.

'I love them.’ 

She wipes her eyes with her sleeve, and she's beaming a crooked smile. 

He hesitates, unsure what to make of her reaction. 

‘E-Entrapta..I, um…’ He begins, remembering the person in the library. He fishes around in his pocket and pulls out two tickets. ‘Do you want to.. Go to the prom. With me. So you can study people, like you said.’

Entrapta gasps, a long and drawn out one that gets higher in pitch.

‘THANK YOU HORDAK!!’ She squeals, and she practically launches herself into his chest, nearly toppling them over. ‘Of COURSE I will!’ 

He smiles at this, glad that he had been the one to put that grin on her face. Anything was worth making her happy. 

\-------

It’s a bad night again. He wants nothing more than to stay in bed but he forces himself to get up, if nothing else to get away from Prime. His older brother had found out about the money he had taken to buy the prom tickets and make the cupcakes. This resulted in having the life beaten out of him while Imp watched, cowering behind the door. He gets his phone taken from him, a clear warning not to talk to Entrapta again. 

It’s summer, but Hordak opts for a black turtleneck sweater under his uniform and a baggy jacket. He however can’t disguise the bruises on his face, as usually Prime would avoid making markings that would arouse suspicion.

He can hear his classmates whisper amongst themselves, saying that he’s gotten into a fight and beat the rival gangs in the area. Hordak growls at them menacingly, and they scatter. He watches them go, and for the first time in a long time goes to skip class.

It’s nice out, a cool breeze on the rooftop soothes his skin. He gingerly takes his uniform off, wincing as he peels off the slightly blood stained sleeve.

He should be used to it by now. But it doesn’t get any better.

‘You didn’t reply to my texts.’

Hordak nearly jumped out of his skin, whipping around to see Entrapta. She has a delicate frown on her face, and looks at him up and down.

'You shouldn’t be here.’ He says, turning away. 

She doesn't look convinced, and starts to walk towards him. ‘Hordak-’ 

‘I said, GET OUT!’ He shouts, furiously wrapping his uniform back around his shoulders. ‘The prom’s off._ Leave.’ _

Entrapta disregards his outburst, striding forward to confront him. 'I can’t keep ignoring this, Hordak.’ She catches his wrist easily, looking at his wounds. 

'You come to school with these new burns, these bruises, and you never TELL me anything.’ She says, pained. 'People say you got them in fights, but I know you. What really happened?’

He stares at her, but she looks determined. Ever the scientist, always looking for answers to things she didn’t understand. 

'You really want to know?’ He growls, tearing his arm from her grip. ‘I am an orphan. My brother Prime got full custody since he’s the only one old enough to earn money to support us. I can’t leave, no matter how much he beats me. My younger brother, Imp. He’s only a toddler- if I go, what happens to him? I couldn’t possibly support the both of us.’ 

She looks shocked, but doesn’t say anything. 

‘He’s ordered me not to talk to you. So that’s what I’m going to do. Don’t make it any harder for me.’ He tries to sound angry, but it comes off more like pleading. 

‘No.’ She says simply. 

He looks at her, incredulous. ‘Did you not hear what I just said-’

‘No, I heard you.’ She replies, bringing out bandages from her backpack like the first time they had met. 

‘I’ve got an idea. I’m breaking you out of there.’ 

‘You’re what?’ 

\----

**Lab Partner: **Are you ready??

**Hordak:** This is such a bad idea.

He’s had no idea how he ended up in this situation. As per instruction via Entrapta’s burner phone, he had packed a getaway bag with their documents for him and Imp, and was waiting for several of her tiny bots surveillancing the area to give the all clear. 

Entrapta had temporarily disabled the security cams in the entire neighbourhood, and was currently waiting in the getaway car. 

**Hordak:** I can’t believe I’m turning on my brother. 

**Lab Partner:** Its okay, we can work on that crisis later!! 

**Lab Partner**: I've also got your disguise in the car :))) 💃💃

Prime was still out at work, and it should be a few more hours until he came back. Hordak leads Imp by the hand down the driveway and fastens him into the booster seat of the getaway car. 

'He is so cuute!' Entrapta coos, poking his baby brother’s cheek. ‘I’m Entrapta. We’re gonna make sure you’re safe, okay?’ 

Imp nods, somewhat confused. ‘Entrapta.’ He repeats, and she grins. 

They peel out of the driveway, and although Entrapta is a terrifying driver they make it safely to her house outside the city. 

When they arrive, he is rendered speechless. Was this a castle? A mansion? The guards out front nod at Entrapta and the security gates open, letting them through. 

At least he knows Prime couldn’t possibly follow him here, thanks to Entrapta’s parents security team. 

Imp has taken to the place, admiring the many robots she had engineered. Her butler offers him some tiny beverages as he waits for Entrapta to finish whatever she was doing upstairs. 

After a while she comes down the stairs and he can practically feel himself stop breathing. She’s gorgeous, dressed in a purple velvet suit, tied together with a vest and a bow tie. Her coattails swish as she walks towards Hordak, who had been stunned into silence. 

‘I...ah..’ He stutters. ‘What is this for?’ 

Imp kicks him in the shin.

‘Uh. Y-you look... exemplary. A magnificent choice of attire.’ 

‘It’s prom today! Did you forget?’ She grins, whisking him from his seat and plonking him in front of the mirror. ‘We bought the tickets, we may as well go!’

‘But Imp-’

‘-Will be safe. There’s no way he’ll find him here. We’ll be in and out, and be back before he’s even left work.’ 

Entrapta takes out a makeup brush and some black lipstick, and starts applying it onto his face. For some reason he lets her work, he’s never really been able to say no to her. She styles his hair so some falls across his face. ‘Now for the good part!’ She declares, and brings out a long black dress combined with an inner red cape, with slits on the sides. They’re accompanied by tall black heels and a black clutch. 

‘I-I don’t know.’ He says. He’s never worn anything that bold or attention grabbing before, usually choosing clothes that would hide his scarring. 

‘Just try it on!’ 

\------

They arrive at the prom arm in arm, and people audibly gasp as they walk down the stairs into the hall. The crowd clears from their path as they make their way down the venue, their stares turning into ones of admiration. 

The person from the library shoots them an affronted look, much to Hordak’s satisfaction. Perhaps this wasn’t so bad after all. 

Entrapta starts grabbing random food off the tables for Hordak to try. As he eats she starts recording Hordak’s different reactions to each new food into her little recorder. 

‘It’s absolutely fascinating how social groups function in peculiar ways! For example,’ She commentates, pointing at her old group of friends. ‘Catra asked Scorpia out to make Adora jealous.’ 

He watches the vice captain antagonize Adora, and she seemed to be taking the bait. Scorpia watches on, looking disgruntled. 

‘Seems like it is working.’ 

‘No mind, Glimmer’s only Adora’s date to make Bow jealous. But according to my observations, that seems to be less successful.’ 

He nods, seemed like there was a lot going on in Etheria he had never cared to notice before. 

Soon they are interrupted by loud commanding voice on the microphone. It’s Frosta, and she’s announcing the first dance. She looks impossibly small up there behind the podium, which happens when you skip a few grades. 

‘Let’s go dance!’

‘I don’t know how to-’

Entrapta drags Hordak onto the dance floor before he can object, joining the other couples paired around them. She puts a hand around his waist, and clasps the other in his. 

'Also, Hordak! I got you something.' She says, almost shyly, handing him a box. 'Instead of a corsage...'

He peers inside and in the box is a beautiful purple crystal, embedded onto a necklace. It has some sort of foreign script engraved into it. 

‘Wait, is this…’ 

‘Yep! It’s the crystals we grew together at the lab last term!’ She beamed excitedly. ‘Didn’t they grow so beautifully?’ 

He turns the crystal in his fingers in awe. It’s been months since the incident with the beaker. ‘What does it say?’ 

‘O-oh. Um….’ 

She turns slightly red, embarrassed. Hordak is fascinated, he’s never seen her look like that before. He presses again, curious. 

Entrapta mumbles something incoherent, blushing up to her hairline. Her grip tightens on the fabric of his dress as she buries her head into his chest. 

‘Loved.’ 

His eyes widen in shock. She finally looks up, eyes burning with sudden conviction. The rest of the prom seems to fade away into the background. 

‘I love you, Hordak.’ 

Now it was his turn to go completely red- she also looks mortified, so now they were just two embarrassed teens in the middle of the dance floor. 

‘I-I love you too!’ He bursts out, awkward and fumbling but _ finally _ honest. 

‘Really?!’ She says, her hair floofing in excitement, like she can’t believe it. ‘You really do?’ 

‘Of course-’ and before he can explain the months of agony of being unable to fight his feelings she mashes her face against his. 

His knees almost buckle out of pure shock, but can feel himself melt into the kiss, her lips are unimaginably soft. He can feel her smile against his own, and she breaks it, giggling. She goes to say something but he's the one to interrupt her this time, kissing her over and over again as she squeals. 

He chuckles at her response, he doesn’t think he’s ever felt this happy. 

\--- 

It's been a year since, and they find a cozy apartment in between their universities. Entrapta’s studying engineering at MIT while being cross registered at Harvard.  
Meanwhile Hordak studies space science at Columbia University, while working part time. 

Hordak had collected all of his and Imp’s legal documents, voice recordings and picture evidence of the abuse and emailed them to Entrapta’s lawyers. Since he turned 18 he was able to win the court case against Prime and take Imp in to be under his legal guardianship. Thankfully he also managed to get a restraining order after a few incidents since Prime was outraged at losing his servants. 

‘I’m home.’ He says, opening the door to find Entrapta chasing Emily around the apartment, his younger brother perched on top. She picks up Imp from her bot holding him in her arms.

'Welcome back!' She greets him with a kiss. 'Ready to start our new project?' 

Hordak smiles, he's been doing that a lot lately. All the suffering he'd been through was all worthwhile if it brought him to this happy little family. He thumbs his little LUVD necklace which he wears every day. 

'Always.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!! Please leave a comment and let me know which specific moments you enjoyed!!


End file.
